It’s not supposed to stretch to original portions, no. And if you’re being vigilant about your food volume, it won’t. But if you’re not being vigilant, if you’re pushing things to the limit on a regular basis, it can and does happen. Slowly, insidiously, without you realizing it. Just the way it happened the first damn time.
I understand about not wanting to track calories. Having to stop and think about every single goddamn thing you put in your mouth, writing it all down, looking it all up, doing the math–it just all bespeaks a level of fixation on food that I find disturbing. I don’t want to have to spend that kind of time and energy fussing with it all.
And that’s exactly why I could never have a gastric bypass. Because it requires you to think about what you’re eating damn near constantly, especially early on. My mom had a RNY in Feb '08, lost 160 pounds and has so far kept it off. It’s the best thing she’s ever done for herself, and I’m proud of her for having the guts to tackle something so difficult and scary. But the plain and simple fact of the matter is that for the first 6-8 months after surgery, her entire life had to revolve around what was going to to go into her mouth when–managing to get all the pills and supplements and water and protein bars down without making herself puke was a serious feat of logistics, especially if she intended to actually eat at meal times with the rest of us. Even now, she has to stagger her meds and plan around it all, though it’s now a relatively minor pita instead of a baffling ordeal. Still, it would drive me nuts.
I love you! I signed up for livestrong/myplate 9 days ago at your recommendation in this thread. I’ve lost 4.5 lbs and I am having no trouble staying within my calorie allotment. In fact, I am having trouble meeting 2/3 of my caloric allotment! This is the easiest weight loss I’ve ever experienced and I just log everything into the computer (which is super easy since I’m always right there on facebook or the dope or whatever anyway) and it has everything! I can use it to track my ovulation cycle! How awesome is that?!?
You stridently deny that you ARE an “overeater”. So that means you don’t know how overeaters eat, right? Nor do you know how a normal/slim person eats, since if you did, you wouldn’t be obese.
There is absolutely no doubt here that you are looking at this surgery as a magic bullet to fix your eating problems without a shred of commitment, work, or self-discipline on your part.
You will gain it all back. And more. And you will have risked your life and wasted over $7,000. How about just knocking off the excuses, limiting yourself to the number of calories you need to lose weight safely and putting that money into your child’s college fund instead?
I’m so glad it has helped you! It really is stupid-proof, no? I’ve used calorie counters before and it has always been a huge pain in the ass- they never have what I’m eating preentered, so I have to go through the trouble of entering everything… . . who has time for that? Love love love Myplate!
The same way it’d rankle to see your neighbor flying his helicopter to 7-11 a block down when your legs are don’t work and you can’t afford a wheelchair. Sure, it’s his money. But some things hit close to home and are hard to watch.
I don’t know if this would work, or if anyone has tried it, but what if you got a metal chain belt, and hooked it so it was just slightly tight, and if you overate, it hurt? And then when it got looser, you moved it to the next notch?
I have to say, I am certainly no expert at losing weight, but I think this could work. At least if you were stubborn and determined.
I’ll say one thing, my stomach has been hurting for reasons that my doctor can’t figure out for almost a year now - I’d give damned near anything to not have a stomach that hurts when it’s empty, hurts when it’s full, hurts when I eat the wrong thing (which varies almost daily). I wouldn’t do this to myself voluntarily (much less pay money for it).
I gained mumble mumble last year as a result of some HUGE things that went down in my life. I’m using the WW online points tracker, which sounds really similar. The nice thing is that it allows me to calculate the caloric value of recipes (via their idiot proof points method) and fiddle with things to make them healthier.
I’m not getting a smartphone till my tmobile contract runs out in December (boo!), but I’ve heard it’s comparatively easier these days because there are tons of apps that help you when you have to go out to restaurants etc.
Anyway, I’m doing the same thing and am down 10 pounds down. I do exercise a crapton in addition to eating disgustingly healthy though. The hardest part wasn’t really eating healthy again or exercising, it was not repeatedly beating myself up for letting myself go when I was in fantastic shape at one point.
Ugh, I just came in here to tell **Maastricht **about a program a friend is on–physician-supervised fasting, ~800 calories a day. (If you’re going to do something drastic, might as well go for the one that probably has a lesser chance of killing or seriously injuring you, right?) But it looks like the surgery’s already going off.
Best of luck. Hope you don’t kill yourself or undo the work of the bypass before you’ve lost the weight you want to lose.
Yeah, a friend did a 700 calorie fast thing (ate regular food, just small amounts) because a doctor suggested it. Lost 50 lbs in like, 2 months. Started eating actual food again and immediately gained 60 lbs. Good times. heh
Not to say it doesn’t work for some- I’m sure it’s a great jump start for some folks. My friend just didn’t have the willpower.
Thanks for the well-wishes, all! I’ll be back from the hospital (and guesthouse stay afterwards) on Sunday evening, so hopefully I’ll be able to post Monday or so.
I kind of expect that for two weeks afterwards, I’l regret it all and think OMG, what have I done. There are plenty of clips on YouTube of people just out of surgery in that state of mind. But then there are also clips of those same people waving cheerfully at the camera two months later and saying its the best thing they ever did for themselves.
Let’s see, after week 19, my friend is currently at just under 114 pounds total lost, which is about a pound past the halfway mark to his goal (Start weight: 446; desired goal weight: 220). Besides the fasting diet, he’s also working out and lifting weights–I think he averages a bit under an hour and a half a day.
Is this the point where I ask a snarky question about YouTube clips of coffins?
Yeah, that’s freaking great. He clearly is making a lifestyle change, too, though. I mean, the working out and such. He’s sounds a lot more dedicated than my friend was. All I’m saying is, that type of program requires a great deal of will power to maintain. Not hating at all
Yeah, the exercise is what makes me hope that he’ll be able to maintain a healthy weight once he’s back on real food again. Didn’t think you were hating, either–just wanted to share, 'cause I’m proud of him. And obviously not everybody who does a program like that would be so involved–but even seriously cutting your caloric intake without making any changes to how much you exercise is going to have profound effects for someone who’s overweight.
And obviously not everybody who does a program like that would be so involved–but even seriously cutting your caloric intake without making any changes to how much you exercise is going to have profound effects for someone who’s overweight.